The vossdrome (/ˈvɔsdroʊm/) is a fat, pale green stranger with four to ten thin, noodle-like arms and no mouth. Its skin is warm and soft, while its dull pink inner flesh is dry and malleable. The vossdrome's round body has some putty-like properties, and takes several seconds to return to its original shape when pressed or pulled. A tenth of vossdrome have a small inner body cavity filled with slimy, lukewarm grey organs, which do not radiate heat, but are instead warmed by the surrounding flesh.

The vossdrome's flesh is dense, resists all but extreme heats, and is difficult to tear or cut. Wounds, when they do occur, tend to leave behind discolored scars, which fade after one to three days.

audio recording

Its voice is humming and monotonous, with no words or language observed.

environment and generation

The vossdrome is found in a wide range of locations, but prefers areas with some human presence, avoiding abandoned or industrial areas. The vossdrome dislikes overgrown areas, and appears indoors 99% of the time. Stores, libraries, homes, and schools are all common hosts to populations of vossdrome.

The vossdrome starts off as a small, bean-like form, which grows larger over the course of several weeks. Individuals often appear wedged in unusual locations, such as behind pipes, beneath heavy crates or furniture, inside garbage cans, or at the top of shelves. Groups appear either in scattered locations throughout an environment, or (7% of the time) in large piles.

Particularly unstable individuals appear 0.7% of the time. These permutations are somewhat smaller, with one to two arms, and, 54% of the time, only a single eye marking in an off-kilter position. They live much shorter lives and engage in more limited behaviours, but exhibit no other ill effects.

behaviour

The vossdrome's behaviour is characterized by a docile and earnest disposition. This stranger is content to spend its days rocking back and forth, tapping its arms on the ground, or humming to itself. Its thin, noodle-like arms lack the strength to provide much in the way of locomotion, and as such, most vossdrome tend to stay within a small area for the entirety of their lives. The vossdrome does not appear bothered by its limited mobility, however, and when it does move, it scoots forward with slow but stalwart tugs.

Although it appears in groups, the vossdrome does not engage in coordinated group activities, and its actions towards others of its kind are mostly limited to quick slaps and half-hearted picking motions. Although they lack true companionship with one another, groups nonetheless tend to stick together. It is rare for individuals to amble off on their own for any length of time, although certain individuals do express a toddler-like wanderlust, often to their own detriment when they find themselves stuck behind pipes or jammed into tight corners.

The vossdrome displays curiosity towards many stimuli, and grabs or pushes at any object that catches its interest. If an object is light enough, the vossdrome will pick it up and wave it in the air around it. These motions resemble a child playing with a toy airplane, and the vossdrome completes this parallel by emitting faint humming noises, in turn.

The vossdrome also takes particular interest in music, and waves its arms from side to side with the beat, or hums along with crude, elementary melodies. Groups of vossdrome hum in unison, and often repeat overheard tunes even after the song has stopped.

Animals, however, are a particular source of strife for the vossdrome, and the vossdrome flails and hits at any animal that comes near it, often while emitting a childish, enraged grumble. It is up to the individual animal to decide whether engagement with the vossdrome is worth the aggravation of these slaps and squeals.

interactions with sensitives

The vossdrome is friendly towards sensitives, and pulls itself towards any sensitive it encounters. It always attempts to position itself on the sensitive's feet, and climbs on top of any sensitive who lays down upon the ground.

Due to its small size, the vossdrome is easy to lift up and carry around. Although the vossdrome does not display overt aggression, it does pick at the skin of those who hold it. After a successful tear, the vossdrome throws any small chunks of flesh to the ground with a delighted, impetuous flail. If permitted, it will even pick flesh down to the bone. Despite this destructive behaviour, the vossdrome appears to hold great devotion towards sensitives, and any stroking or petting motion causes the vossdrome to become so overwhelmed with joy that it emits a rasping squeal of delight and tears its own body apart, as though unable to contain its pleasure.

The vossdrome cannot right itself when placed upside-down, and flails like a toddler holding a tantrum until turned over by an external source (often, the haphazard pushing of its companions).

aging and death

As it ages, the vossdrome develops the tendency to pick at its own skin, most often around the forehead and eyes. The vossdrome scratches with irritation and annoyance, and even as it tears out large chunks of its body, only grows more fervent in its picking.

All vossdrome eventually die from self-inflicted injuries. A vossdrome too weak to pick at its own skin sometimes receives help from other nearby individuals, which cheer with excitement once their friend dies. After death, the vossdrome's corpse turns hard, before it flattens and disappears into the ground.